Time 2 Scale: celebrating the Estonian tech ventures who took the leap — and inviting the next ones to follow
When EBS joined forces with Hanken School of Economics and Riga Technical University to launch Time 2 Scale, we made a promise to ambitious tech founders across the Central Baltic region: give us nine months, and we will give you the structure, mentorship and cross-border connections to move from a strong home market into real international growth.
Today, we are proud to celebrate the Estonian companies who took us up on that promise — and to open the door for the next cohort.
Time 2 Scale is a fully funded, nine-month international scale-up programme delivered jointly by Estonian Business School (EE), Hanken School of Economics (FI, lead partner) and Riga Technical University (LV). It is funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme, with a total project budget of €1,688,000 across the three universities and a duration of 38 months — long enough to run three full cohorts and support 72 technology ventures from Finland, Estonia and Latvia in scaling beyond their home markets.
The programme is built around a simple premise: a common challenge in the Central Baltic area is the under-utilisation of local companies' growth and scaling potential. Insufficient support systems, limited resources, and market fragmentation restrict cross-border expansion. Hanken, EBS and RTU together can offer a more comprehensive, robust and faster support package than any single institution could deliver alone.
For each selected company, that translates into:
- A tailored development plan and quarterly roadmaps
- 10 hours with a programme-funded industry advisor of the company's choice
- Hands-on workshops led by experienced practitioners
- Individual consultations throughout the nine months
- One tailored international business trip per company
- Exposure at Europe's leading startup events — Slush, Latitude59 and TechChill
- Financial support to engage international stakeholders
- Pilot projects and market validation work in new regional markets
- Ongoing alumni activities once the programme ends
Selection is rigorous. We look for ventures founded within the last seven years, beyond pre-seed (ideally post-seed and preparing for Series A), with a product that has been in market for at least 12 months, paying customers, existing monthly recurring revenue, a credible technology-driven business model, and a real ambition to grow internationally and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Congratulations to our Estonian Time 2 Scale graduates!
We are deeply proud of the Estonian founders who completed the programme and represented the strength of our local tech ecosystem on a regional stage. Each of these companies brought genuine market traction into the cohort and used the nine months to sharpen their international playbook.
- Qallio — A multilingual AI voice receptionist for small businesses, handling 24/7 customer calls, appointment booking, and support automatically.
- Steam Minds — An Ed-tech company building VR/AR learning platforms and DIY robotics kits for K-12 students.
- Trinode Systems — An AI company building secure, in-house large language model solutions for AML compliance, defense radio communications, and operational intelligence in disconnected environments.
- Monemon — An EU-licensed e-money institution building a Gen Z-focused "non-bank" mobile app for financial management and literacy, with IBAN accounts and debit cards.
- KappaZeta — A space-tech company turning Sentinel-1 radar satellite data into AI-ready time series for agriculture, forestry, defense and carbon monitoring, with its own 3D-SAR satellite mission in development.
- Capster — A health-tech company offering a science-based nasal rinsing system developed with ENT specialists to prevent sinus infections and ease chronic congestion.
To each of these teams: thank you for trusting us with a part of your journey. Watching you move from validated home-market traction into concrete cross-border pilots, new customer conversations in Finland, Latvia, and beyond and stronger international fundraising narratives has been the best possible confirmation of why this programme exists.
A particular thank you also goes to our Estonian mentors, advisors and ecosystem partners who gave their time and expertise to make these nine months count.
What we learned alongside the founders
A few themes stood out across the Estonian cohort:
- Cross-border is not just geography — it is operating model. Selling in Helsinki or Riga from a Tallinn base is rarely a copy-paste of the home playbook. The companies that moved fastest were the ones willing to rebuild their go-to-market motion, not just translate it.
- Mentor fit beats mentor seniority. Allowing each founder to choose their own programme-funded advisor — rather than assigning one — produced sharper, more honest working relationships and faster execution.
- Pilots are the real currency. Workshops and roadmaps matter, but the moments of real momentum came when a participating company closed a first paying customer or a serious pilot in a new market. The programme was designed around making those moments more likely, and they happened.
Applications are open for the next cohort!
If you recognised your own company in any of the above, we have good news: the next round of Time 2 Scale is now open for applications, with a deadline of 15 June 2026 and a programme start in mid-September 2026.
We are looking for the same profile that made this cohort so productive:
- A technology-driven product already in market for 12+ months
- Paying customers and existing MRR, with clear revenue targets for the year ahead
- A team of at least two active members, with at least one full-time and salaried
- Beyond pre-seed, ideally post-seed or preparing for Series A
- A serious, specific ambition to grow into Finland, Latvia, the wider Nordics and beyond
- A meaningful link — current or planned — to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Participation is free for selected companies, thanks to the Interreg Central Baltic Programme. There is no equity ask. What we want in return is your full engagement for nine months, and your willingness to do the work that international scaling actually requires.
How to apply and who to talk to
You can find the full application details and timeline here: https://centralbaltic.eu/project/time-2-scale/382-project-materials/
For Estonian applicants, your direct contacts at EBS are:
- Hira Malik — hira.malik@ebs.ee
- Jelena Žovnikova — jelena.zovnikova@ebs.ee
If your company has the product, the customers and the international ambition, we would very much like to hear from you. Estonia has built one of the most entrepreneurial digital ecosystems in Europe; Time 2 Scale exists to help the next generation of Estonian tech ventures turn that home advantage into a regional, and then global, one.
We cannot wait to meet the next cohort.
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Time 2 Scale is delivered by Estonian Business School, Hanken School of Economics and Riga Technical University. It is funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme, with project duration from 1 May 2025 to 30 June 2028.
